Submitted by:
Dr. Cecilia G. Manrique
Assistant Professor
Political Science/Public Administration
University of Wisconsin – La Crosse
1725 State Street
La Crosse, WI 54601 USA
v: (608) 785-6642
e: manrique@uwlax.edu
MANRIQUE@UWLAX.BITNET
Categories:
Education, higher
Keywords:
Innovative or improved ways of doing things; More equitable access to technology or electronic information; Creation of new ideas, products, or services; Technology transfer
Supporting Documentation (contact author for more information):
Documentation
The Story:
A WHOLE NEW WORLD BEYOND WISCONSIN AND THE BORDERS OF THE UNITED STATES: A POLITICAL SCIENTIST’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE EXPANSION OF THE NETWORK
by Cecilia G. Manrique
I have considered it my mission over the past four years to disseminate information on the wonders of the networks through various fora. It can be as remote from my daily existence as writing an article for various journals and periodicals (see December 1992 Issue of PS:Political Science and Politics) or delivering a paper at a conference (my paper entitled “Internetworking Resources for Political Scientists” has been accepted for presentation at the August 1993 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association) or giving presentations about using the network to fellow faculty members on campus and on other campuses within the Wisconsin system. All of those activities have produced an impact and a sense of satisfaction as exhibited by the dozens of electronic mail messages I had received after the article came out including one from the Swiss Political Science Association. (Documentation 1 attached)
However, that which gives the most satisfaction is the ability to use electronic mail and internetworking capabilities in my political science classes as a means of reaching out to my students who are severely restricted by the classroom situation. So we come into class, discuss things but what do we do with what we learn afterwards? Students have found it a valuable way of communicating their thoughts and ideas with me and with each other beyond the classroom. (Documentation 2 and 3 attached)
But that which I find most valuable about being part of “netland” and which I hope my students get to realize even if it is semesters after my class, is the fact that it allows them to connect to various resources all over the world. How do I show them the capabilities of the network? Early in the semester, usually two or three weeks into it, I hold a laboratory session to introduce electronic mail and the Internet to the classes. Each person is provided with an account. I make available a distribution list for everyone so that from the outset they can send messages to each other. I provide them with step-by-step instructions on what to do and what the capabilities of our system are. And during that session they are able to tap into libraries all over the country and all over the world by TELNETing to various sites that I list for them. Students find that “poking into the Internet” is such a lot of fun. I also provide them with telnet addresses for USA Today headline news and the Down Jones News Retrieval Service which students find very valuable in terms of information not only for my class but for their other classes as well. Depending on the course, I have asked students to correspond with students from other countries about political experiences so stories of “examination hell”, “relationships”, “Mt. Pinatubo’s eruption” and others have been traded over the networks internationally.
Students are asked to provide me with feedback and for the most part if the students open themselves up to the experience it becomes a positive one for them, hopefully one that they can bring along with them to other courses and into the work place. In that sense I see the network as a means of improving my teaching and rapport with my students, it allows for the dissemination and hopefully creation of new ideas within academia, it provides the students with equitable access to electronic information which will allow them to be competitive in the workplace. Thus, I make my contributions in the transfer of technology to young minds that will be responsible for future public policy in this country. (Documentation attached)
From: IN%"ALLAN@cgeuge51.BitNet" 15-FEB-1993 10:39:02.01 To: manrique@UWLAX.BITNET CC: Subj: Your article in PS Dec. '92 Received: by UWLAX; Mon, 15 Feb 93 10:38 CDT Received: From CGEUGE51(ALLAN) by UWLAXB with Jnet id 1745 for MANRIQUE@UWLAX; Mon, 15 Feb 93 10:38 CST Received: from uni2a.unige.ch by uni2a.unige.ch (PMDF #2502 ) id <01GURBVJGRZ40014NF@uni2a.unige.ch>; Mon, 15 Feb 1993 17:35:03 WET-DST Message-Id: <01GURBVJH1MQ0014NF@uni2a.unige.ch> Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1993 17:35:03 WET-DST From: ALLAN@cgeuge51.BitNet Subject: Your article in PS Dec. '92 To: manrique@UWLAX.BITNET X-VMS-To: IN%"manrique@uwlax.bitnet" X-Envelope-to: manrique@uwlax.bitnet MIME-version: 1.0 Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Dear Ms. Manrique: Your recent piece in PS on Network resources is very interesting. Would you mind if we published a photocopy of it in the quarterly bulletin of the Swiss political association (of which I'm the current president.) Hopefully, PS would agree, too. What do you think? Thank you for your kind consideration of this request, Sincerely, Pierre Allan University of Geneva, Switzerland
From: VAXA::PIECHOPO2021 15-FEB-1993 18:20:26.08 To: MANRIQUE CC: Subj: ASSAIGNMENT Hola! How's it going on your end of the computer? This assignment (I know that I spelled it wrong before!) is quite difficult to get used to! We had a few problems right from the start, namely in figuring out the copy command. I still didn't figure it out, but I will talk to you in class on Thursday. Once I got by that problem, the rest was a little easier. The first thing I tried was the USA Today Program, so I didn't get a chance to read it and find out what that it was all about. I found the Murphy Library system easy to use. I've used the computers in the library many times, and it was very similar. Is there a number to call this service on my modem at my home computer? That would be even easier! But it was cool to use different libraries across the nation, including the Library of Congress, Marquette U., and Boston U. I then got into the Dow Jones Service, but didn't explore too much. It is a neat system with a lot to offer though. I'll work with that one more later when I have some extra time. I think that I sent my message to the class 3 different times, but only by accident. I thought I had made a mistake, and used the control-z command, but it sent the mail! Oh well, at least I got one of them sent correctly. The mail from our classmates was truely interesting, but not important right now. Maybe later we will use this to just send actual messages to others. Who knows? So far, I love this program, and all that it has to offer. I hope I will be able to use it sometime again soon. You know, I do need some advising some time, so I will be in touch soon. Your FAVORITE student-- Jim Piechowski
From: VAXA::GRANRAPO2051 5-FEB-1993 16:10:51.74 To: MANRIQUE CC: Subj: BECKI GRANRATH PROFESSOR MANRIQUE, THE COMPUTER ASSIGNMENT WAS VERY ENLIGHTENING. I'M GLAD YOU TOOK THE TIME TO WRITE OUT THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE COMPUTER OPTIONS YOU DID. MANY OF MY PAST PROFESSORS TALKED ABOUT SUCH OPTIONS AS E-MAIL AND THE DOW JONES REPORT, BUT NEVER TOOK THE TIME TO EXPLAIN HOW ONE WOULD GO ABOUT USING THEM. THE INSTRUCTIONS YOU GAVE US WORKED VERY WELL. EVEN THE MOST COMPUTER ILLITERATE PERSON, LIKE ME, COULD HAVE FOLLOWED THEM WITH EASE. GAINING ENTRANCE INTO THE MURPHY LIBRARAY, MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY, AND BOSTON UNIVERSITY LIBRARY WAS SIMPLE ENOUGH. I DIDN'T HAVE ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE ELECTRONIC MAIL EXCEPT, DO THE MESSAGES DISAPPEAR AFTER YOU READ THEM? I STARTED OUT WITH 14 AND NOW I ONLY HAVE 4 LEFT. WE DIDN'T NEED TO KEEP ALL OF THEM DID WE? I DIDN'T GET INTO THE USA TODAY, BUT I WILL GO BACK AND TRY THAT AFTER I'M DONE WITH THIS MESSAGE. IN USING THE DOW JONES NEWS REPORT I TAPPED INTO THE SERVICES OF GENERAL NEWS, MOVIES, AND BOOKS. ONCE AGAIN YOU CAME UP WITH A GREAT AND USEFUL ASSIGNMENT. THE INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE YOUR CLASSES GO BEYOND THE CLASSROOM AND THAT IS MORE THAN I CAN SAY FOR SOME OF MY OTHER INSTRUCTORS AND CLASSES. WITH THAT, THE ONLY THING I HAVE LEFT TO SAY IS THAT I'M GOING TO NEW YORK WITH MODEL U.N. YEAH!!!!!!!!! BECKI
From: VAXB::MEIERPO2051 18-FEB-1993 13:45:22.60 To: @POL205 CC: Subj: message to class--from TJM Dear Class, We have a gross misunderstanding. I'm painted daily in class as chauvinistic and apathetic. This is false. I'm just a humble conservative gasping for air while suffocating in this liberally-dominated class. The "bleeding heart" factor in POL 205 goes off the scale--and I accept it, while at the same time feel compelled to juxtapose the rhetoric I hear--if only to keep the supposed mindset of the class in check. Understand, it is a dark age to admit--much express--a conservative viewpoint, and I emplore, if not demand the daily lynchings I endure cease--out of fairness and productivity to the class. There are those out there in the class who feel exactly as I do: learning about feminism in mildly benefecial, but cramming its mere existence down evertone's throat with the classic "saber rattling" being done in this class as it is elsewhere is rediculous. The difference between myself and those who subscribe to my views is this: they sit there muted and neutered; I express my politics regardless of the situational challenge. Timothy J. Meier
From: VAXA::PREUSSPO2051 19-FEB-1993 13:21:57.05 To: @POL205 CC: Subj: REPLY Hello my fellow classmates, This is Kari speaking, yes the girl in the back row sitting next to the ever present Steve. As for this assignment I too had a few difficulties, namely there were two different filles in my name. Anyway, Becky, these new computers are more advanced thus work faster than any you or I have see (Dan told me that) - Betsy, hope your valentine weekend wasn't that bad - Sherry, GREAT spelling of the word mayhem - Erick, your such a poet - Tony, your so damn positive, are you the guy in the back row by me - Tara, two messages and I'm frustrated too, but in a good way - Hollen, Leitsk, Uphill, Martha, Chuck, and Pam, I'm real proud that you did the assignment - Kingsu, computers aren't that horrible - lastly Tim, buddy if I as in a classroom setting and part of the discussion it is my responsibility to defend or justify the words I share. Hope that didn't sound PATRINIZING, it wasn't ment to be, but if you can't take the heat... This E-mail is a great thing. I hope we continue to send messages to each other. If any of you would like to send me a personalized message my username is PREUSSPO205. By the was Manrique can show you how to contact other schools through E-mail, whick would be alot cheaper than calling you friends. Sorry so long! Kari
